Power's Out
by TheElvenMage
Summary: It is bleak for the country of Illea. Rebels are disrupting life in the provinces, and power outages are frequent across the country. After a shocking attack, Princess Jacklyn and Prince Valerius are forced to move to a new home - and begin a Selection. Jacklyn is wary of the Selection, and Valerius just wants life to return to normal. (SYOC OPEN (11/15) (4/15) Details inside
1. Prologue

POV Prince Valerius

It was a cool day in northern Angeles, he and his sister, Jacklyn, were touring a new national park deemed by his father the previous day, when an earth shattering boom was heard. Valerius gave a worried glance to Jacklyn. For the past few years, the rebels have been gaining more and more power. With it, power outages have been taking hold, as well as more rebel attacks on the palace. That's why his father sent Valerius and Jacklyn north. "What is it?" Jacklyn asked, holding onto his arm tightly.

Valerius shook his head, his dark hair falling down onto his forehead. "I don't know." Smoke rose from a southern direction. "It's coming from the direction of the palace."

"You're Highnesses," A guard ran up to them. "There's been a tragic occurrence."

. . .

Twenty-four hours later, Valerius and Jacklyn were dressed in black and watched their parents be put in the ground, along with other palace maids and guards. "Valerius," Jacklyn's eyes were sparkling with tears. "What about the palace?"

"It's gone, sister," Valerius replied quietly as the dirt was put on their bodies. "Forever. They'll have to make a new one."

Jacklyn held his hand tightly, squeezing her eyes shut. "Where do we live now?" She asked.

"We'll go to one of the residential palaces around the country. Until a new Royal Palace can be built," Valerius told her.

A guard walked up to them, handing Valerius a paper. "This is your parents' last wish. For you both. We're all sorry for your losses." He then walked away. Jacklyn peered at it, as rain drizzled down onto them.

 _Valerius, Jacklyn,_ it began

 _If you're reading this, it means something horrible has happened to us both. A rebel attack that has killed us, most likely. I have instructed at the time of our deaths, something must be done to recover our morale. The rebels will seek to use our deaths as a platform for their cause. Unfortunately, to recover this morale, it will require sacrifice from both of you. A Selection, for both of you, to be held at the same time. Fifteen invited to each, 15 girls for Valerius, 15 boys for Jacklyn. I have instructed the palace staff to give you free reign choosing who is going to attend your Selection. After all, this is going to be your futures. Twos, Sevens, Eights, for all I care. Recover this morale. For us._

 _Love, Mom and Dad_

"A selection? Both of us?" Jacklyn sighed, she is the younger sibling, and she hadn't expected to need one. "I don't know about this, Valerius."

"It doesn't seem to be up to us," Valerius replied to her. "I'll help you."

Jacklyn brushed a hand through her long blonde hair. "Okay. Okay." She took a deep breath. "I'll see you later." She walked away.

Valerius walked around the city for a bit, lost. Rain pattered down onto his ceremonial coat, and he knew that there were guards lining the streets, not in their typical uniform, as to not attract attention. Valerius sighed, crossing his arms across his chest.

 **POV Princess Jacklyn**

 **Six Months Later**

"It's a week until your birthday. Four until the holidays," Valerius poked Jacklyn. "And a day until the Selected arrive."

Jacklyn and Valerius were inside the newly created palace, it was gorgeous. It had a pool, many bedrooms, a few ballrooms, a gorgeous garden, a bowling alley, a library, amongst many other things. She was confident that Valerius would find someone in the Selected. She wasn't so sure. She never knew what to do. "Tomorrow is it, isn't it?" Jacklyn knew she would be unable to sleep this night. Maybe she'd read up on some of the Selected.

Valerius gave her a bright smile, the crown nestled on his head. At the end of this, he and his wife would be King and Queen. There would be new monarchs. Jacklyn hadn't seen much of her brother since their parents had died. He had been in a whirlwind of meetings with foreign leaders of the German Confederation, the Italian Republic, France, Russia, and many others. "Yup." He answered. "If any of them cause you any problems, I'll be there."

Jacklyn gave him a little, shy smile. To be honest, she was quite scared of the Selected coming. Many she wouldn't know. Almost all, to be exact. What if none of them were the One? What if she loved more than one? She was in it alone. It hadn't happened before in the history of the nation that two Selections were happening at the same time. "Thanks." She leaned on him as they walked up and down the third floor, already being decorated for Valerius' Selected.

The lights flickered for a few moments, and Jacklyn wondered if they'd go out. The Selected would certainly begin to know what life was really like in the palace. Though, she never really knew what it was like outside of it either. "What if I get it all wrong? What if I don't like any of them?" Jacklyn asked him quietly.

"You'll like at least one, Jackie. I promise. If you don't, I suppose you could just invite more new ones," Valerius answered, his arm wrapped securely around her.

Jacklyn gave him a slight smile. "I guess. That's cool, I suppose," She replied, walking up the steps to where her Selected would live. The fourth floor.

As she walked, she looked inside at some of the rooms were they would be living in. "How long do you think this will last?" Jacklyn asked, apprehensive at so many sharing her home.

"I don't know. I've heard some have stretched on for a few years." Valerius replied, peering at the rooms with her.

Jacklyn bit her lip lightly, knowing that was probably the maximum. "Alright." The lights flickered a bit, then shut completely off. "Power's out."

A/N: Hello! My first story, and I love it already. You can submit up to 2 people, one guy and one girl. Forms will be the same. This is an AU where America/Maxon, and their children didn't happen, basically ignorant of the Selection plotline. Castes are still in place. By the way, Valerius is 20, and Jacklyn is 17. They are the only 2 left of the Royal Family. There is an interim person leading the country, before Valerius takes the throne. There will be a website/tumblr for character pictures eventually. It'll be on my profile.

FORM (Will be on profile)

Name:

Age:

Caste:

Personality:

History:

Appearance:

URL:

Reason for joining the selection (love? Power? Money?):

Province(List 3 possible please):

Family:

Friends:

Ages:

How will they treat Valerius' Selected:

How will they treat Jacklyn's Selected:

Maids (Names, Ages, Personality):

Opinion of Jacklyn:

Opinion of Valerius:

How will they act around the Royals?:

Do you want them to be the One?:

Languages:

Fears:

Likes:

Dislikes:

Other:


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1- Guests**

 **POV Princess Jacklyn**

The palace was all decorated, all ready for the Selected to arrive later that afternoon, when the phone rang in the throne room. It was reserved for only foreign calls, as well as national security issues. "Valerius," Jacklyn said, smoothing out her dress. "I imagine it's for you."

Valerius was speaking with advisors, so Jacklyn maneuvered over to the phone. "Hello?" She asked, picking up the phone.

"Princess Jacklyn, how are you this morning?" The voice was crisp and clear, someone she'd heard before, but she couldn't remember.

"I'm good. Awaiting the big day," Jacklyn responded sweetly, imagining it was a foreign leader. "How are you?"

"We're very good," The voice replied. "Our country would like to congratulate you and your brother on your upcoming Selection, as well as we would like to come visit to establish deeper ties between nations."

"I think this is a matter best left to my brother," Jacklyn said warily into the phone. "I don't know if he wants foreign leaders during the Selection. Maybe he does, but I don't know."

"Well, this is most disheartening, as we were hoping to bring a present for the both of you and the Selected as well," The leader's voice was disappointed. "Farewell from Berlin."

"Wait!" Jacklyn said quickly. "We'd be happy to greet you here. When would you like to visit?"

It was Queen Karoline, from the German Confederation. One of the nation's few allies left, and home of her best childhood friend. "We were thinking of visiting on the weekend. Is that alright?"

"Of course. We'll see you then," She set down the phone. She could hardly contain her excitement. Loran, Germany's crown prince was a few years older than her, but they had bonded when she went on a European trip a few years back. Jacklyn raced over to Valerius.

"The Germans are coming over the weekend." She whispered to him, not wanting to disturb the meeting.

"What?" Valerius asked, shocked. "That's only four days from today, Jacklyn. We'll have to throw a festival for them, as well as greet and meet the Selected."

"I know, just, I didn't want to make them angry. They've been so kind to us over the years, and it isn't time to disrupt that now, is it?" Jacklyn said.

"I suppose not. We'll speak more later," Valerius was visibly disappointed, his brown eyes turning back to the others.

Jacklyn sighed and left, heading out to the newly made gardens, her favorite spot already in the palace. There were a few maids tending to the plants, when a few came up to her. Her trio of maids, Jessalyn, Rye, and Carmen. "Hi." Jacklyn sighed, resting her head on the bench she had sat down in.

"Morning," Jessalyn said cheerfully, sitting down beside her. "Can you wait? If I were you I couldn't."

Jacklyn gave her a little smile. "To be honest, I'm a little nervous. Theres a lot at stake here. What if there's rebel attacks and some of the guys leave?"

"Then they didn't deserve you in the first place," Carmen replied firmly, putting her hand on her arm. "It's as simple as that." She smoothed out some of the hairs that had gone awry.

As the three of them began to chat, Jacklyn became immersed in remembering a moment two years ago…

 ** _Berlin, Germany_**

 _Jacklyn had just arrived at the Palace of Berlin. Her brown hair was straightened, and she prepared for a meeting with the royals of Germany. She had an hour yet, and she was escorted upstairs by a guard. "Good morning, your highness," The guard gave her a quick smile, taking her up to a room on the third floor._

 _Jacklyn smiled back at him, disappearing into her room and looking around. It was beautiful, full of artifacts from Germany and Illea. It was special, for people from Illea only. As she gazed out the window, she could see children playing in the street below. "Good view?" A voice came from the doorway._

 _She turned around and saw a prince with blonde hair standing there in formal attire. "Yes, thank you," She walked toward him. "You are?"_

 _"_ _Prince Loran," He bent down and kissed her knuckles. "I know who you are." His blue eyes twinkled._

 _Jacklyn smiled a little bit. "Can you show me around?"_

 _"_ _Of course," He held out his arm for her, and she took it. "This is one of the oldest buildings in Berlin. I'll lead you to the Room of the Past. It's the most famous room in the palace. Documents the history of Germany, through all of time." She followed him, curious._

 _Jacklyn checked out recent history with him, looking at the smiling chancellors and kings and queens. German troops voluntarily training Polish and Illean troops. A meeting between the most powerful nations in Europe, Russia, Germany, France, Britain, and Italy. Shipments of weapons to Illea. "I never knew this much happened over here in Europe," Jacklyn breathed._

 _"_ _Yeah," Loran replied. "I've been to almost thirty-five countries and I'm only seventeen."_

 _Jacklyn's eyebrows raised. "I'm sixteen and I've been to maybe six."_

 _Loran laughed, looking over at her. "Which ones?"_

 _"_ _Germany, Illea, obviously, France, India, Australia, and Brazil," Jacklyn said. "I think. I could ask you to name yours, but it could take the rest of the hour." She grinned softly._

 _Loran laughed, escorting her past the middle history to early history, of the Holy Roman Empire, and Prussia. She read a little bit, but mostly focused on him explaining it. "You know all of this?" She asked in surprise when he just talked without looking at any of the photos._

 _"_ _Very well. I spent hours in here as a child, it was easy to hide in here," Loran said. "Back when I was little I knew every word in here."_

 _Jacklyn sighed. "I don't know that much about Illea's history and it's shorter." He led her out of the room, and to the meeting. She continued to meet with him for the next couple days before she had to continue to the next country. She couldn't wait for the day she went back._

 **POV Prince Valerius**

Valerius finished his meeting with the advisors, and they all recommended inviting more nations to meet with during the Selection, to make them feel special. They all agreed Germany was a good pick, and advised inviting France, Russia, India, Brazil, Italy, and a few more over the course of the Selection. They'd be able to meet all of the Selected and his eventual queen first hand. He went back to his room to deliberate which countries to choose, as he could pick another country to meet with Germany when they came over the weekend. He decided on calling France, as they were very tightly knit. He picked up the phone and called King Jacques. "Hello? This is Prince Valerius of Illea, and we would like to invite France to visit Illea this weekend for a festival with Germany," He said into the phone.

"Ah!" The King's voice was delighted. "France will be honored to attend. We will bring our own security." He added.

Valerius rolled his eyes a little, knowing other nations had heard of the rebels, but never really had thought anything of it. He'd need to get his decorators ready immediately to start working on the ballroom and the reception hall. "Thank you, we expect to see you here on Saturday evening." He hung up.

He massaged his temple, and laid down in bed. He heard a little scratching sound coming from the closet. "What the…" He muttered, getting up and opening it. Inside was a little cat, all white, with gorgeous blue eyes. Jacklyn was allergic to cats, so if he kept it, she'd never be able to come near it.

"Alright," He caved, after thinking about it for a few second. He picked it up and carried it to the bed, and set it down. It meowed. It looked fairly thin, he didn't even know how it had managed to the palace in the first place. "Where do I get cat food?" He wondered. He doubted the palace had anything on hand.

Valerius climbed out of bed, leaving the cat there. He changed into a dark coat and pants, leaving the room and locking it with a key. Valerius left the palace, not being questioned by the guards at the front doors. He went into the city, trying to find a supermarket that sold cat food. When he found one, he got a little thing of it so he could carry it back to the palace. It was nearly noon, and the Selected would be arriving at one. He thanked the cashier and quickly departed, running back to the palace.

A/N: I'm sorry that I didn't accent Illea, but unfortunately no internet connection, so here I am. XD I am changing Jacklyn's age from 17 to 18. I need quite a few more Selected, so please, send them in!

And always, review! :) Have a good day!


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